


The Way to a Man's Heart

by micehell



Category: Firefly
Genre: Angst, Gen, Humor, Post-Serenity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-11
Updated: 2009-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-12 01:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/484925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/micehell/pseuds/micehell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>None of them ever really did figure what Valentine's Day was about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way to a Man's Heart

Mal had given up on faith long ago. At least any other faith than in himself, his ship, and the people who crewed with him. Well, in at least some of the people who crewed with him. But it was hard to have faith in any of that when everything seemed to be falling apart at the seams, the constants that had been there for so long he'd taken them as truth, gone in a moment.

Not that there weren't still constants in his life. Zoe was still a ghost, apparently waiting for Wash to come back, or to find her way to him in one way or another. Kaylee was still a ditz. A golden, wonderful ditz, but still. Inara was still gone, the violence of his life still too close a memory for her. River was still crazy, and Simon was still a sister's boy. And Wash and Book were still dead.

Now Jayne… well, Jayne was still crazy. But he was still there, still alive, no matter how many people would love to kill him, and just as irritating as ever. It was one of the things that Mal liked best about him.

They were all his, his faith, and maybe sometimes he hated what they were (dead he hated most of all), but as long as they were his, he could fight for them. As long as they were his, he wasn't back in the Valley, breathing death in deep, but not deep enough. As long as they were his, he could keep going. That was his faith, as stupid and crazy as it was. Because they'd lose some day, follow Wash and Book (still dead), and then where would Mal be?

But today, this day, they were still his. And today they were going to have a celebration, regardless of the fact that no one had ever heard of Valentine's Day, or even cared about it.  
Of course the only reason Mal had was because Book had mentioned it once, with that crazy old-time knowledge of his. He suspected that Book hadn't really known what it was about anyway, the dinner before them not looking very appetizing, but he'd looked up the ingredients Book had mentioned, and this was the recipe he'd got. And they were damn well going to eat it, and they were damn well going to be happy about it, because Zoe was still a ghost, and Kaylee was still a ditz, and Inara was still gone, River still crazy, Simon still a sister's boy, Wash and Book still dead, and Jayne, God love his ornery little soul, was still crazy enough to just dig right into the pie without even hesitating, and they were all his.

Zoe, for once, noticed what was on the table before her, her face getting that same look that it always had when he suggested what she thought was a slightly unusual (or totally crazy, depending on who you asked) idea. "Are you sure this is a traditional Valentine's Day meal?"

Mal was happy she was talking, happy she was paying attention, and he could almost have hugged her for it, but that wasn't what she needed from him. So he gave her the truth instead, liberally laced with sarcasm. "Hearts and flour, just like Book said. Of course, that also has kidney in it, and some other stuff, but it was the only one I could find with both ingredients in it, so it has to be the right one. So just shut up and eat it."

They all did, food always too precious a commodity to waste, but it didn't stop them from complaining. Mal let them, knowing that was just the way they were, another constant in a world too filled with change.

None of them ever did figure out what Valentine's Day was really about, but they celebrated it with hearts and flour every year all the same.


End file.
